Water heater (boiler) not heating water at night but it does during the day

piokowalski · Oct 7, 2016

I have been having issues with my Boiler (water heater) - Horstmann Quartz e7.

It has been working perfectly for 3.5 years (since I moved in to my place). Suddenly it stopped heating up water at night.

It does not heat water at night even though it seems that the timer works at night. To make it clearer:
- I wake up in the morning and water is cold (it has been happening for 2 weeks) - and I (and my flatmate says the same) did not change anything about settings (anyways - there is nothing to change - it is very simple).
- but the boiler itself is working as when i choose the 'booster' option after 20 min water is hot/warm.

There is something wrong with night clock (timer) - but I checked once and it seems like it is working at night but still water is cold. And of course it is turned on - 'timed'.

Please help. Thanks!

The Ghost · Oct 7, 2016

Maybe the fuse/mcb on the off peak has tripped ? Does the off peak light come on at night ?

7029 dave · Oct 7, 2016

Element maybe shot.?

The Ghost · Oct 7, 2016

7029 dave said:
Element maybe shot.?

cant be boost works

sparkey999999 · Oct 7, 2016

Vortigern said:
cant be boost works

could be, different element for boost

The Ghost · Oct 7, 2016

Aha good point

7029 dave · Oct 7, 2016

Boost could be on 24hrs.?

Silly Sausage · Oct 7, 2016

http://www.horstmann.co.uk/files/2713/9867/2126/user_guide_economy_7_quartz_-_E7Q.pdf

Possibly two elements.
You could be both right.

The Ghost · Oct 7, 2016

Yeh It would be on 24 hrs I reckon. But double elements are not uncommon I agree. If the element has gone then it may still have tripped the Off peak supply and it seems the first check to establish that no ?

7029 dave · Oct 7, 2016

sparkey999999 said:
could be, different element for boost

Think its on 24hrs, not on e7 for boost.

The Ghost · Oct 7, 2016

Defo agree boost is on 24 hrs. And thinking about it, its gotta be two elements as I cant see attaching two different supplies to one element theres hardly enough room for one supply.
And as it says in the instructions the white dot should either be lined up with winter time or summer time and it is neither, wonder if that has any bearing ?

7029 dave · Oct 7, 2016

A normal reading between L N on an element will read 17 to 19 ohms.

piokowalski · Oct 7, 2016

Thank you a lot for your answers! What should I do now? Probably call a repairman?

btw - I ll try to check once more if it works at night (light on) but water is not warm.

Richard Burns · Oct 7, 2016

If your timer is working and it is set to timed then there are various points of possible failure, the most likely one being a problem causing the element to overheat and operate the safety reset. Element failure is also likely.
You should have a set up something like this

The off peak side is the problem.
Make sure the MCB is on (up), if it resets but trips overnight then the element is most likely shot.
Make sure the isolator switch is on.
With the power to the immersion off, check if the overheat reset has tripped
if you have one it will be either on the thermostat or the element boss. If this has tripped there may well be a significant problem but it is worth resetting it once and seeing if it works again, if on the second night you have no hot water and the reset has tripped then the element will need to be replaced.

piokowalski · Oct 8, 2016

Thanks again for your answer.

Hm, i am not sure what I should check... 2 electricity swichers are on (red light is on - attachment ending 144223) but the rest not sure where I should check...
I attach 3 pictures, maybe it helps. If not I will ask for a repairman to come over...

By the way - is it possible it is not working at night because somebody changed some settings or switched something off?

Thanks!

The Ghost · Oct 8, 2016

Can you show us a pic of the main fuse boxes where the meter is?

Deleted member 93172 · Oct 8, 2016

Nice of the plumber to fit more equipment across the I/H, is there a I/H in the top of the tank, if so the bottom one which is the off peak one will prob need changing, and while your at it you might as well change the top one as well as they were most prob fitted together.

The Ghost · Oct 8, 2016

there is two at the bottom (I/H)

Deleted member 93172 · Oct 8, 2016

I can see the bottom one now you pointed it out, what a crazy place to put in extra pipe work, it is looking like you will need a plumber to sort that out now, after getting a sparks to confirm the element needs changing.

Richard Burns · Oct 8, 2016

I would say with that arrangement get someone in to fix it, the access is so poor that it will be a nightmare.
Just for reference this is what you have there.

It looks like the horstmann unit is the isolator though the switch just below and to the right is possibly the 24hr supply to the horstmann unit. Switching off the unit (as shown in the picture) or switching off the red lit isolator (not the shower pump isolator) should power off both elements.